No. You don’t need $1 million, or any set amount, to hire a financial advisor. Of the 781 US fee-only firms whose websites state an asset minimum, 50% say they have none. Planners who charge by the hour (a median $300), by the plan ($2,000) or by subscription ($4,500 a year) work with people at any asset level. The high minimums you’ve heard about are real, but they belong to one way of charging.
Half of firms that address it have no minimum
From prices and terms firms publish on their own websites
Source: Wellspent fee report; Wellspent website study
Two things follow. First, a minimum isn’t the default: half the firms that mention one say there isn’t one. Second, most firms don’t say at all. Of the firm websites we read, 20% state a minimum in plain text we could verify. If a site is silent, ask. Silence doesn’t mean $1 million.
Every registered firm has to disclose its account requirements in its brochure, Form ADV Part 2A, Item 7, “such as a minimum account size.” You can read it on the SEC’s free adviser search before you call.
Where the $1 million idea comes from
Minimums come from percentage-of-assets pricing. If a firm charges 1% a year and spends the same hours on every household, a small account doesn’t pay for the work:
| Assets | 1% a year | Compared with |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $1,000 | Less than the median one-time plan ($2,000) |
| $250,000 | $2,500 | About half the median ongoing fee ($4,500) |
| $450,000 | $4,500 | The same as the median ongoing fee |
| $1,000,000 | $10,000 | More than twice the median ongoing fee |
So firms that live on a percentage set a floor. Large firms often set it high: Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Select, for example, requires $500,000 of enrolled assets. Private banks and wealth managers often go higher. That’s a pricing decision, not a judgment about who deserves advice.
A flat, hourly or subscription price already covers the work, so the planner doesn’t need a minimum. That’s why most of the planners below don’t have one.
Your options below any minimum
| Option | Typical cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly planner | $300 an hour (US median) | One decision, a yearly check-up, a second opinion |
| One-time plan | $2,000 (US median) | A full plan you’ll carry out yourself |
| Subscription planning | $4,500 a year, about $375 a month | Help every year while your income and decisions grow |
| Percentage of assets, no minimum | 1% a year on what they manage | Someone to run your investments from the start |
| Low-cost automated investing | Vanguard Digital Advisor: $100 to start, about $15 to $16 a year per $10,000 in an all-index portfolio | Investing only, paired with an hourly check-up |
| Pro bono planning | Free, for people in need | Households in hardship or crisis |
A few notes on the less obvious ones:
- Automated investing plus an hourly planner. An automated service handles the portfolio cheaply. A few paid hours a year cover the decisions it can’t: taxes, benefits, insurance, a house. The two together often cost less than either a full subscription or 1%.
- Pro bono. The Foundation for Financial Planning funds free planning from volunteer professionals for people in crisis or need, including families affected by cancer, military members and veterans, and at-risk seniors. Its site has a “Find Pro Bono Help” page.
- Percentage firms with no minimum. They exist. Ask how the fee works on a small account: some set a minimum yearly fee in dollars instead of a minimum balance.
When paying for advice makes sense with less
The size of your decisions matters more than the size of your accounts. Advice tends to pay for itself early when you have:
- Equity pay. Stock options or RSUs from an employer, where taxes and timing decide what you keep. See equity compensation specialists.
- Student loans. Repayment plans and forgiveness rules, where one choice can be worth thousands. See student loan planners.
- High income, still building. See advisors for HENRYs (high earners, not rich yet) and advisors for early-career professionals.
- A one-time choice. A pension lump sum, an inheritance, a divorce settlement, a severance package.
If none of those apply and your finances are simple, you may not need anyone yet. Our guide to whether you need a financial advisor helps you decide.
Talking to an advisor costs nothing to start
You can find out whether a planner will work with you before you pay anything. Of the firm websites we read, 31% offer a free consultation or intro call in words we could verify. Use that first conversation to ask three things: whether they have a minimum, what they’d charge someone in your situation in dollars a year, and what you’d get for it. A planner who can’t answer the second question plainly is a planner to skip.
If you already work with an advisor who has a minimum and your balance has dropped below it, ask before you assume you’ll be dropped. Some firms keep existing clients, or move them to a planning tier.
How to find planners with no minimum
- Start with flat-fee and hourly planners. Browse flat-fee advisors in the public graph. An advisor’s record says “no asset minimum” when the firm states it.
- Ask about the household. If a firm has a minimum, ask whether it counts every account in the household, including retirement accounts and a spouse’s.
- Ask what happens below it. Some firms with a minimum offer a planning-only tier, a one-time plan, or a referral.
- Check that they’re fee-only. A “free” advisor is usually paid by commissions on what they sell you. Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only shows where to look.
For the full picture of what each option costs, read how much a financial advisor costs. If you’re in Canada, see what fee-only advisors charge in Canada.